Kid friendly fishing

I was wanting to take my kiddos fishing this year. But they are 2 and 3 and u all know how kids are when it comes to fishin. They have a blast for about a half an hour then they are bored. Well what I am asking is where can i take them where I have a good chance to catch some cats and still let the kids run around a little when they get bored. My son really likes to go places with me especially fishin. I cant even say the word without him wanting to go. So a little advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would just take them pond fishing, just for them. Teach them how to fish, let it be their fishing trip. You are not going to be able to fish much without having to stop and help them anyway. You'll have fun just watching them learn! Trust me on this one, been there done that.

The first few times you go, leave your pole at home & only take the kids' poles. You gotta get them interested first, then you can fish later. It ain't your fishin' trip, it's theirs. Take 'em somewhere that they can catch perch or bullheads, just fish after fish after fish. That's what gets them hooked. Let them throw rocks, play in the bait, and just be kids.

You can't beat jug fishing on a river to keep the kids entertained. I take my 7 and 3 year old all the time when I jug. They have a great time fighting who gets to pull in the next jug and spotting a jug going under. They are also entitled to 20 jugs apiece also so I sometimes run up to 60 jugs or if the wife comes 80 jugs. We catch our shad, throw out jugs, then run around the river and explore and start checking and rebaiting. There never bored and catch a lot of fish. Dad drives and kids pull fish in all day. This is one of the main reasons I jug fish as much as I do. I like them to be with me but trying to sit quite in a boat for hours isn't going to happen. It doesn't hurt that I like it a lot also.

I understand. And good point my son Im not worried about but the little girl now thats another story. She is a demon child. Man I dont know where to even start with her itll be an interesting experince.

man i;m in the same boat my kids are also 2 and 3. i took them fishing here while back and they had a really good time.all we were catching was bluegill but to them they were the biggest fish they ever seen. now my little girl wants to go every time and my little boy has learned to say{i go fish to}..it's hard to tell the little buggers no so we all load up and spend most of the time just catching bluegill or what ever is bitting fast. to me a pond is the best place for them because most of the time the water is more shallow around the edges so if they do happen to fall in they are more scared then anything and there is always a bass or bluegill laying around.most of the time after they catch a few they are ready to go or they want one they can play with on the bank. i hope i'm gaining two of my best fishing buddies and i'm sure some place on down the line i hope they so me how THEY like to fish. it's so much fun to watch a little one with a finding nemo pole real in anything so even if you don't catch anything all that really matters is the time you get to spend together

I started my son about the same age your speaking of. I tried taking my pole, but honestly it was a huge mistake. I suggest keeping it as simple as possible. If I had to do it again I might even try crappie poles or cane poles with no reel and just a simple hook and bobber. A small jig or worm works well.

Let them move around to find just the "right" fishing spot. If you can chum the water with some white bread/favorite chum and hit the gills. After they have caught some gills and burned off some energy then switch over.

I would throw out some lines and he would sit with me and watch for a bit. Then he would get antsy. I would let him explore and play. If the pole got a bite then I would ask him what was wrong with his pole. He would come running and I would assist him as much as he needed to land the fish. He would be wired then and would sit for a spell and watch.

At 3-5 fishing is not a long haul event. Short trips and sporadic fishing is the best you can hope for. To me its like a birthday party. Its their fun time and not mine. If they get tired then have them lie down on a blanket and you can tell tales of fishing. Of course all mine are the honest truth (wink wink). They will nap and you can enjoy. This time is not about fishing its about bonding and learning. Patience is not a single lesson. I have had over 35 years learning patience and I still dont have it down pat.

Best of luck and remember, fishing is fun, but fun is dependant on how the time is spent. Just imagine you have a world record cat on and your only have 8lb test. Play it slow and gentle and the benefits will outlast you and be handed down even after we are under ground.

I have taken my son to a heated dock when nothing was biting so i just let my pole set and help him out/played with the minows along with him. I think that was actually his first fishing trip. Thats is why i cant leave the house and say the word fishing at the same time. Cause like some of u said little faces sad that they cant go fishing is probably the hardest thing to over come. And I have taken them both camping but the daughter was to worried about playing with the sticks and bugs to even want to walk down to the water. Now the wife hates fishing (BOO on HER).

I started both of my daughters on fishing before the youngest now 18 could even walk. We fished local parks and I would usually try to make it a short trip 2 or 3 hours. As they grew older the trips became longer in duration. By age ten both girls knew how to tie their own line, bait their own hooks and as long as the fish wasnt huge they would get the fish off of the hook. By age 12-13 they were filleting their own fish. I say you can never start them too young. You just have to make concessions when you take them knowing that most of your time will be spent helping them. My kids are 18 and 21 and they still go fishing with me. Its a great time we shared and the kids still talk about funny stories that happened while we were out "fishing".

Great thread fellas! I will be taking the 5 y/o out on Wednesday if the weather allows it. Took him for the first time last summer and he loved it He had me laughing so hard everytime he caught one (every two minutes or so) that I almost fell off of the dock! He would flip out and yell "fish on" hahahahaha.....funny kid, best time we ever had together. Can't wait to take the rascal night fishin'.

yep thats what got me hooked was fishing at a small pond. still go down there all the time.

i afree you can never start them to young you just gotta change it to fit them. the younger and the less they go the shorter amount of time is better but if they arnt bored then dont worry about it, also make sure you explain what ur doing i have found kids like that. keep it simple, i like taking my newphew down the road to catch creek chubs because there easy to catch and great bait for catfish.

i think the best thing you can do is take out on the water when there real young. i have pictures of myself sleeping in my moms arms going up and down the river through rapids and everything in my dads boat. that was when i was only 6 months old maybe even younger, now my sisters thought i was funny when we went crabbing to tell me they caught a fish and then show me a crab which i was scared of but i got over that pretty fast.

For the first several Trips, Swap your pole for a Camera and just be the photograher for the trip heeh... I have so much fun watching mine reel em in that I don't even think about throwing a line in ...

After they go a few times, you'll get a pretty good idea on what the trips will be like and they will get longer as they get older. Eventually you'll be able to throw a line out yourself hehe.

Also, If im planning on nitetime catfishing with my buddies, I hit a local pond with my son and we catch all the bait I need for that nite ... He thinks its cool when we pitch em the baitwell hehe...

here for fort sill there is 5 ponds that are stocked for kids to fish, I took my brothers kids a couple of times last summer, for sure your kids will catch something, either a turtle or cat, I wanted to throw my own line in so bad when i saw what they were pulling out of the waters, also I think in mid may-june miner twins ( to side by side ponds) will be having a fishing durby sponsord my fort sill's MWR and all kid ponds will be stocked, last year I think they put somthing like 15,000 cats, 10,000 bass 30,000 sunfish all over fort sills ponds and they were tagd with either $10 $20 $50 $100 also you can have your little one enter the contest for biggest fish more fish ect my nince got a 100 saving bond and she even got some free fishing stuff, when the durby gets ready to kick off I will post it here on the oklahoma section. there are some resctions for it such as age group and skill level and you can help them fish you can only help them bate and remove the fish